Interconnect solder bumps for die testing

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor chip may include a die having one or more circuits. The semiconductor chip may include a plurality of die bumps, each having a first geometry, a first vertical profile, and a first volume. The die bumps may be coupled to the die and in electrical communication with the one or more circuits. The semiconductor device may include a plurality of test bumps each having a second geometry, a second vertical profile, and the first volume. The test bumps may be coupled to the die and in electrical communication with the one or more circuits. The first geometry and the second geometry may be adapted for the plurality of test bumps to make connection with a wafer probe to the test bumps without making a connection to any of the die bumps during a die test.

FIELD

The present invention relates to die testing and more particularly to solder bump structures for die testing.

BACKGROUND

Flip chip or controlled collapse chip connection (C4) is a method of interconnecting semiconductor chips to external circuitry using solder bumps that have been deposited onto chip pads of wafers. Each wafer is made up of a plurality of die that have a plurality of solder bumps. The chip pads of the die are lined up with chip pads of the external devices where they are to be connected and the solder is reflowed to complete the interconnect. Prior to interconnecting the die to other devices, the dies may be tested with a wafer probe having a plurality of probe points that probe test circuits for each die at the specific test solder bumps.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a semiconductor chip is described. The semiconductor chip may include a die having one or more circuits. The semiconductor chip may include a plurality of die bumps, each having a first geometry, a first vertical profile, and a first volume. The die bumps may be coupled to the die and in electrical communication with the one or more circuits. The semiconductor device may include a plurality of test bumps each having a second geometry, a second vertical profile, and the first volume. The test bumps may be coupled to the die and in electrical communication with the one or more circuits. The first geometry and the second geometry may be adapted for the plurality of test bumps to make connection with a wafer probe to the test bumps without making connection to any of the die bumps during a die test.

In another embodiment, a semiconductor device is described. The semiconductor device may include a plurality of die bumps, each having a first geometry, a first vertical profile, and a first volume. The die bumps may be coupled to the die and in electrical communication with the one or more circuits. The semiconductor device may include a plurality of test bumps each having a second geometry, a second vertical profile, and a second volume. The test bumps may be coupled to the die and in electrical communication with the one or more circuits. The second vertical profile of the test bumps is greater than the first vertical profile of the die bumps.

In yet another embodiment, a method for testing semiconductor devices is described herein. The method includes forming a plurality of die bumps each having a first geometry, a first vertical profile, and a first volume to a die of the semiconductor chip with one or more circuits. The die bumps are in electrical communication with the one or more circuits. A plurality of test bumps are formed having a second geometry, a second vertical profile, and the first volume to the die. The test bumps are in electrical communication with the one or more circuits. The first geometry and second geometry of the plurality of test bumps is adapted to make connection with a wafer probe to the test bumps without making connection to any of the die bumps during a die test. The method may also include testing the die (or multiple die) at the plurality of test bumps with a wafer probe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor chip with reflow solder bumps utilizing a die press to form test bumps according to an embodiment.

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor chip with test bumps utilizing the die press method according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor chip with reflow solder bumps utilizing a force compressed process to form test bumps according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor chip with the test bumps after the force compressed process according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor chip with reflowed solder bumps utilizing an alternative force compression process to form test bumps according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor chip with the test bumps after the alternative force compression process according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4A is an isometric view of the semiconductor chip with mask-shaped test bumps according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor chip with mask-shaped test bumps according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor chip with the test bumps after the mask is removed according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5A-5D show sequential cross-sectional views of the semiconductor chip with test solder bumps utilizing an alternative mask build-up process than FIGS. 4A-4C according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method of testing the die of the semiconductor chip according to an embodiment.

In the drawings and the Detailed Description, like numbers generally refer to like components, parts, steps, and processes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Semiconductor chip fabrication may include forming a plurality of circuits on semiconductor wafers. Each wafer may have multiple copies of the circuits on the wafer. Each of the copies, referred to as die, may be separated in a further step in the semiconductor chip fabrication process. The semiconductor chip may connect the integrated circuits within the die to other external integrated circuits by flip chip or controlled collapse chip connection (C4), which are a methods of interconnecting semiconductor chips to external circuitry using solder bumps that have been deposited onto chip pads of die and electronically coupled to the circuits in the die. The chip pads of the die are lined up with chip pads of the external devices where they are to be connected and the solder is reflowed to complete the interconnect.

Prior to die preparation, testing of all the circuits may be done by a wafer probe to test for functioning die. More than one die may be tested at the same time with a wafer probe. The wafer probe may test the circuits of the die at the solder bumps. The solder bumps where the wafer probe tests the circuits of the die may be referred to as test bumps. The solder bumps not used for testing may be referred to as die bumps. When testing the circuits with the wafer probe, a limitation to the density of the wafer probe is the proximity of the test bumps to the die bumps. In order to limit shorting that may occur when the wafer probe is placed onto the wafer and to accommodate the probe pitch or to avoid connections with the die bumps when trying to test the test bumps, the test bump locations within the solder bump pattern may be spread out from the die bumps to allow a clean probe connection.

In addition, the shrinking solder bump pitch (the distance between the solder bump centers and currently 185.6 μm or less) has forced the added requirement of removing die bumps from the pattern that are adjacent to the test bumps. The removal of adjacent die bumps is required to eliminate shorting with the wafer probe. This limitation may drive added complexity to the solder bump pattern by forcing test bumps to be at a larger minimum pitch than desired.

Die bump removal may also impact the efficiency of on-chip circuit placement by forcing test circuits to be placed near the test bumps and therefore impacting placement and timing of functional circuits. Removing die bumps may increase dies size, increase package connections, and degrade the performance of the parts. Embodiments, herein, may include die bumps adjacent to the test bumps that may not short with or make connections with the wafer probe when probing the test bumps. Embodiments may include test bumps that do not require the removal of adjacent die bump. Also, embodiments may allow for uniform pitch between the solder bumps. Substantially uniform pitch may be about ±5% of the mean pitch between the solder bumps.

In one embodiment, FIG. 1A illustrates a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor chip 102 with reflowed solder bumps utilizing a die press 104 to form test bumps 110. The semiconductor chip 102 may further include a die 106 that has a plurality of die bumps 108 a and test bumps 110 a on the die 106. Each die bump 108 a and test bump 110 a may be made of solder or an equivalent material that may be shaped and reflowed to return to a spherical shape. The die bumps 108 a and test bumps 110 a may be coupled to the die 106 by bump pads (not illustrated), which may be in electrical communication with the circuits or back-end of line (BEOL) wiring (not illustrated) in the die 106. Each die bump 108 a and test bump 110 a may have substantially the same volume of solder material. Substantially the same volume may be about ±5% of the mean volume of the solder bumps.

The die press 104 may be used to shape the die bumps 108 a and test bumps 110 a. The die press 104 may be formed to make the test bumps 110 a taller than all the die bumps 108 a or the die bumps 108 a that are adjacent to the test bumps 110 a. The temperature environment that the die press operates in may be at an elevated temperature than ambient temperature. However, the temperature may be below the reflow temperature of the bump material. The elevated temperature may make it easier to achieve the solder bump reshaping. The die press 104 may make the die bumps 108 a have a first geometry and a first vertical profile. The die press 104 may make the test bumps 110 a have a second geometry and a second vertical profile that may be taller than the first vertical profile of the die bumps 108 a. The volume of the die bumps 108 a and the test bumps 110 a may be substantially the same after the die press 104 has formed the new solder bump geometries. Making test bumps 110 a taller and with different geometries than the die bumps 108 a may prevent shorting or inadvertent connections of the wafer probe with adjacent die bumps 108 a when testing the die 106. If a retest is required, then a reflow and a re-forming with the die press 104 may be performed.

FIG. 1B illustrates the semiconductor chip 102 after the die press 104 has formed the die bumps 108 b and test bumps 110 b. FIG. 1B may include a wafer probe 112 and the semiconductor chip 102. The wafer probe 112 may include a wafer substrate 114 and a plurality of probe points 116. The test bumps 110 b and the die bumps 108 b may be shaped in a way that distinguishes the test bumps 110 b from the die bumps 108 b during wafer final testing (WFT). The die bumps 108 b may have the first geometry and the first vertical profile. The test bumps 110 b may have the second geometry with the second vertical profile. The second vertical profile may be taller than the first vertical profile. The first geometry in FIG. 1 may be polyhedron, while the second geometry may be a pyramidal frustum. However, other geometries that limit wafer probe shorting are contemplated for either the first or second geometries. After WFT the test bumps 110 b and the die bumps 108 b may be reflowed into their original spherical shape by melting the bumps 108 b and 110 b. Reflowing may return the pressed die and test bumps 108 b and 110 b into a sphere, each containing substantially the same volume.

FIG. 2A illustrates another embodiment of a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor chip 202 utilizing force compression to distinguish test bumps 210 a from die bumps 208 a. FIG. 2A includes a flat press 204 and a semiconductor chip 202. The semiconductor chip 202 may include a plurality of test bumps 210 a and die bumps 208 a on a die 206. The test bumps 210 a and die bumps 208 a may be coupled to the die 206 at die pads. These die pads may be in electrical communication with the BEOL wiring in the die 206. The test bumps 210 a and die bumps 208 a may be substantially the same volume and spherical shape when reflowed. The flat press may be adapted to press the die bumps 208 a adjacent to the test bumps 210 a while leaving the test bumps 210 a and other non-adjacent die bumps with substantially the same shape before the force compression. In another embodiment, the flat press 204 may be adapted to flatten all die bumps 208 a while leaving the test bumps 210 a in their original, flowed, spherical shape. An application force of up to 155 grams under the acceleration of gravity on the die bumps 208 a may significantly deform the die bumps 208 a without damaging the underlying BEOL wiring of the die 202. The temperature that the force compression process occurs may be at an elevated temperature than ambient temperature. However, the temperature may be below the reflow temperature of the bump material. The elevated temperature may make it easier to achieve the solder bump reshaping.

FIG. 2B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor chip 202 of FIG. 2A after the force compression of the die bumps 208 a is completed according to an embodiment. FIG. 2B illustrates the wafer probe 112 that includes a probe substrate 114 and a plurality of probe points 116. Also the semiconductor chip 202 may include the die 206 and the force compressed die bumps, now referenced as 208 b, and the test bumps 210 a in their original, reflowed, spherical form. Because the test bumps 210 a are raised above the level of the adjacent die bumps 208 b, less vertical translation of the probe is necessary and shorts are avoided without removing adjacent bumps. After testing is completed, the die bumps 208 b and test bumps 210 a may be reflowed back to their original, spherical shapes for stacking and mounting.

FIG. 3A illustrates a cross-sectional view of a die 302 of an alternative embodiment of bump force compression. The embodiment may include flat press 304 and a semiconductor chip 302. The flat press 304 may be adapted to compress the all die bumps 308 a or specific die bumps adjacent to the test bumps 310 a. The flat press 304 may additionally include press points 320 adapted to press a portion of the test bumps 310 a. The flat press may alternatively only include the press points 320 for deforming the test bumps so as to not physically alter the die bumps 308 a. The test bumps 310 a may be deformed forming a bowl shape or concave indentation on the test bumps 310 a forming test bump 310 b of FIG. 3B. The press points 320 may deform the test bumps 310 a so they are shaped to receive the wafer probe points 116 to limit shorting the probe points 116 with the adjacent die bumps 308 b of FIG. 3B.

Referring to FIG. 4A, an isometric view of a semiconductor chip 402 utilizing a customized mask for die bump 408 and test bump 410 formation is illustrated according to an embodiment. The semiconductor chip 402 includes a die 404 with a customized mask 406. The customized mask 406 may alter the geometry of certain die bumps 408 and test bumps 410 into a shape, which is more amenable to probing.

FIG. 4B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor chip 402 of FIG. 4A according to an embodiment. The die 404 may include a customized mask 406 on top of the die 404. The mask 406 may include a first geometry to form the die bumps 408 and a second geometry to form the test bumps 410. The die bumps 408 and test bumps 410 may be created with solder or lead-free bump material such as a tin-silver-copper (SAC) alloy by a plating process. Each geometry may be filled with a constant volume of bump material. The die bumps 408 may have a first vertical profile and the test bumps 410 may have a second vertical profile. This may result in the second vertical profile of the test bumps 410 being taller than the first vertical profile of all of the die bumps 408 or the adjacent die bumps 408 due to the geometry of the mask 406. In FIG. 4B, the die bumps 408 may be substantially cylindrical in shape while the test bumps 410 may be in the shape of a conical frustum. However, other shapes are contemplated to differentiate the test bumps 410 from the die bumps 408 to prevent shorting of the wafer probe 112 with the die bumps 408.

FIG. 4C illustrates the semiconductor chip 402 of FIG. 4B after the mask 406 is removed according to an embodiment. The wafer probe 112 may not short with the die bumps 408 during the WFT due to the different geometries or vertical profiles or both of the die bumps 408 and the test bumps 410. The die bumps 408 and the test bumps 410 may be reflowed for stacking or mounting after the WFT.

FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate sequential cross-sectional views of a semiconductor chip during process steps of an alternative masking process for producing die bumps and test bumps according to an embodiment. FIG. 5A illustrates the semiconductor chip 502 that may include a die 504 and a customized mask 506 a that may have cylindrical openings, for example, for the die bumps 508 and test bumps 510 a. The openings of the test bumps 510 may have a shorter diameter than the diameter of the die bumps 508. Each of these openings may be filled with a solder compound.

Referring now to FIG. 5B, the die bumps 508 may be masked off and left at their original heights in FIG. 5A creating mask 506 b according to an embodiment. The test bumps 510 a may not be masked off by mask 506 b. Mask 506 b may be built up to the desired test bump 510 a height. In FIG. 5C, additional solder plating may be added to the test bumps 510 a creating test bumps 510 b. In FIG. 5D, the mask 506 b may be removed from the semiconductor chip 502 and the WFT may be performed. After the WFT, the test bumps 510 b and die bumps 508 may be reflowed for stacking or mounting.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a flow chart of a method 600 for testing the circuits of a semiconductor chip is illustrated, according to an embodiment. In operation 605, a plurality of die bumps may be formed on a die of the semiconductor chip. The die bumps may have a first geometry, a first vertical profile, and a first volume. The die may have one or more integrated circuits and the die bumps may be in electrical communication with the one or more integrated circuits of the die. In operation 610, a plurality of test bumps may be formed on the die of the semiconductor chip. The die bumps may have a second geometry, a second vertical profile, and the first volume of the die bumps or substantially the same volume. The die may have one or more integrated circuits and the test bumps may be in electrical communication with the one or more integrated circuits of the die. Operation 610 may occur before operation 605. Alternatively, both operations may occur simultaneously. In operation 615, the die may be tested with a wafer probe at the plurality of test bumps.

While the invention has been described with reference to the specific aspects thereof, those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications to the described aspects of the invention without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. The terms and descriptions used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. Those skilled in the art will recognize that these and other variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor chip, comprising: a die having one or more circuits; a plurality of die bumps, each having a first geometry, a first vertical profile, and a first volume, the die bumps being coupled to the die and in electrical communication with the one or more circuits; and a plurality of test bumps each having a second geometry, a second vertical profile, and the first volume, the test bumps coupled to the die and in electrical communication with the one or more circuits, wherein the first geometry and the second geometry are adapted for a wafer probe to make a connection to the test bumps without making a connection to any of the die bumps during a die test.
 2. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the second vertical profile of the test bumps is greater than the first vertical profile of the die bumps.
 3. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the die bumps and the test bumps are made of a material that can be reflowed.
 4. The semiconductor chip of claim 3, wherein the material is solder.
 5. The semiconductor chip of claim 3, wherein the material is a tin-silver-copper (SAC) alloy.
 6. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the test bumps and the die bumps have substantially the same pitch.
 7. A semiconductor chip, comprising: a die having one or more circuits; a plurality of die bumps each having a first geometry, a first vertical profile, and a first volume the die bumps being coupled to the die and in electrical communication with the one or more circuits; and a plurality of test bumps each having a second geometry, a second vertical profile, and a second volume, the test bumps being coupled to the die and in electrical communication with the one or more circuits, wherein the second vertical profile of the test bumps is greater than the first vertical profile of the die bumps.
 8. The semiconductor chip of claim 7, wherein the first geometry and the second geometry are adapted for a wafer probe to make a connection to the test bumps without making a connection to any of the die bumps during a die test.
 9. The semiconductor chip of claim 7, wherein the die bumps and the test bumps are made of a material that can be reflowed.
 10. The semiconductor chip of claim 9, wherein the material is solder.
 11. The semiconductor chip of claim 9, wherein the material is a tin-silver-copper (SAC) alloy.
 12. The semiconductor chip of claim 7, wherein the test bumps and the die bumps have substantially the same pitch.
 13. The semiconductor chip of claim 7, wherein the first volume and second volume are substantially equal.
 14. A method of testing a semiconductor chip, comprising: forming a plurality of die bumps each having a first geometry, a first vertical profile, and a first volume to a die of the semiconductor chip having one or more circuits, the die bumps being in electrical communication with the one or more circuits; forming a plurality of test bumps each having a second geometry, a second vertical profile, and the first volume to the die, the test bumps being in electrical communication with the one or more circuits; wherein the first geometry and second geometry is adapted for a wafer probe to make a connection to the test bumps without making a connection to any of the die bumps during a die test. and testing the die at the plurality of test bumps with a wafer probe.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: reflowing the test bumps and the die bumps to a third geometry.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: coupling the semiconductor chip to an external circuit at the test bumps and die bumps.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the second vertical profile of the test bumps is greater than the vertical profile of the die bumps.
 18. The method of claim 14, wherein the forming of the plurality of die bumps and the plurality of test bumps is completed by a die press process.
 19. The method of claim 14, wherein the forming of the plurality of die bumps and the plurality of test bumps is completed by a force compression process.
 20. The method of claim 14, wherein a plurality of die may be tested with the wafer probe. 